Qualcomm, software ignite late rally

Also: Texas Instruments adds to the evening momentum

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Upbeat results from PeopleSoft, Computer Associates and Check Point led a convincing evening rally in software stocks Wednesday, though LSI's quarterly report created one weak spot in the technology sector.

Qualcomm and Texas Instruments shares, too, were on the rise following their better-than-expected reports.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 After Hours Indicator, which tracks the evening action of the index's leading stocks, climbed 13 points, or 1.3 percent, to 1,013. Watch video brief.

Earlier, the Dow Jones Industrial Average turned negative for the year, closing off 124 points, or 1.5 percent, at 8,319. The Nasdaq Composite ended the day in the red, down 5 points at 1,360. See Market Snapshot.

Qualcomm gains

Qualcomm
QCOM, -0.92%
led Island ECN most actives after the close, up more than 5 percent. The wireless-technologies giant said first-quarter profit from core operations jumped 83 percent on strong sales of chips and record licensing fees. The company also boosted its second-quarter and full-year forecasts. See full story.

Software pops

Shares of Citrix Systems
CTXS, -0.44%
moved more than 3 percent higher after the company surpassed analysts' fourth-quarter earnings estimates, lifted by record sales in Europe and a surge in electronic licensing. See full story.

And shares of Siebel
SEBL
added almost 5 percent following the company's better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. Software sales did, however, decrease by more than a third from a year ago.

Check Point Software
CHKP, +0.78%
jumped 7 percent after the company beat analysts' earnings target by 2 cents a share, even though sales fell 10 percent from the same period a year ago.

LSI plunges, TI surges

LSI Logic
LSI, +0.15%
reported a much smaller loss for the fourth quarter than it had a year ago, as weakness in its consumer and communications business lines was offset by strength in storage. The chipmaker said business flagged in the fourth quarter and added that the trend would spill over into the first.

The company expects business to pick up in the second quarter and said it should return to pro forma profitability in the third quarter. Shares fell 14 percent in the after hours. See full story.

Separately, shares of Altera
ALTR, -0.96%
gained more than 2 percent after the chipmaker reported a profit for the fourth quarter, reversing its loss a year ago, as sales rose by 11 percent.

Finally, Texas Instruments shares
TXN, -1.55%
leapt 10 percent after news that the company's fourth-quarter loss grew to $589 million even as sales increased 20 percent to $2.146 billion from the same quarter last year. See full story.

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